There’s nothing quite like the World Cup qualifiers.
This September’s international break has produced stories across the globe - in one week, Africa, Europe, Asia and the Americas produced some exciting moments in international football.
Whilst FIFA began to publicly promote its biennial World Cup idea this window, with the support of many legends of the game, it is important to remember why we remember the drama and stories from the tournament. It’s because the competition only comes about once every four years - and the qualifiers are a big part of it.
Africa
CAF, the Confederation of African Football, kicked off the first two matchdays of the second stage of the African World Cup qualifiers. And boy were they eventful.
Olympique Lyonnais' Algerian striker, Islam Slimani, netted four goals for his country as they completed an 8-0 rout over Djibouti. With 36 goals in 75 matches, Slimani is now joint top scorer in Les Fennecs history, together with Abdelhafid Tasfaout.
Ethiopia managed a sweet but dramatic stoppage time victory against Zimbabwe. The East African derbies of Group E, between Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda, all ended in draws, to the benefit of fourth member Mali.
Libya has managed to win both its games in style, sending an interesting message to their competitors, especially Egypt. At the end of the international break they sacked Hossam Badry and hired Carlos Queiroz. The former Portugal manager recently guided Iran to two successive World Cup finals, as well as a short spell in Colombia where he failed to leave his mark. His appointment is an interesting addition to African football, especially in a year where the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon.
Tanzania went into first place in Group J, whilst Dieumerci Mbokani was on top form as usual for the DR Congo. Nigeria celebrated Ahmed Musa's 100th cap for the Super Eagles, but after a check by FIFA, it turns out he’s only played 98 games. The forward will have to wait until the next international break, where he is likely to join Vincent Enyeama and Joseph Yobo in Nigeria's centurions club.
The biggest story, however, came from Guinea. Morocco's national team was escorted out of the country before the match after an attempted coup d'etat in the capital Conakry. The borders were closed, and the Atlas' Lions were trapped in their hotel for a day, waiting for help to leave the country safely. Fortunately the Moroccan delegation made it back home safely. This video from the team bus shows just how scary the situation was.
Europe
In Europe, the groups got into their general shape, with it becoming clearer who will likely qualify directly, and who will look to snatch a place in the playoffs. But this time, there was a record-breaking performance from one of the world’s best.
Cristiano Ronaldo now holds the record for most goals scored in international matches, after his header against the Republic of Ireland. Ronaldo is now on 111 goals in 180 appearances for his country, breaking Iranian Ali Daei’s 109.
Israel managed a lucrative 5-2 win against Austria, but went to Copenhagen to face one of Europe’s top national teams, Denmark. The Danes continued their outstanding form from the Euros and hammered the Israelis 5-0 in a perfect display - it could have easily been more than just five.
They’re currently the only European team with a perfect record in the qualifiers, with six games, six wins, 18 points, 22 goals scored and zero conceded. The Christian Eriksen incident from the summer looks like it could’ve been a uniting moment for the team and the country. Can someone stop Denmark pulling off a shock in Qatar?
The Netherlands might be the ones to do it, with their ever-evolving style and new-old coach Louis van Gaal. Their 6-1 thrashing of Turkey was a message to the whole continent. The Turks continued their poor form from the summer and looked lost, unorganized, and lacking a system.
Norway and Erling Haaland enjoyed the international break, as did England, in front of Viktor Orban’s Hungarian ultras. With only four games left to play in the group stage of the European qualifiers, it will be fascinating to see who will make it to the playoffs, fighting against those who performed best in the Nations League for a place in Qatar.
Oh, and speaking of Qatar, this window was a tough one for the Qataris in Europe. Two massive losses to Serbia and Portugal, and a draw with Luxembourg, show there’s plenty of work ahead for them, if they want to be competitive next winter.
Asia
The third round started in Asia, with some big surprises and gaps being narrowed.
Iran had a perfect record over the international break, and finally managed to get the best out of Alireza Jahanbakhsh. The Feyenoord striker was on point for Team Melli throughout the window, with a 1-0 win over Syria, and a prestigious 3-0 victory against Iraq, in the Clasico Asia derby.
The Iraqis, who had great expectations following a 0-0 draw with South Korea in the first match after the appointment of new coach Dick Advocaat, discovered that there is still plenty of work to do if they are to compete for a place in the finals.
The United Arab Emirates also struggled. Brett van Marwijk looked to be making an impact, but instead came out from the break with two draws, one with Lebanon and one with Syria. South Korea narrowly won against the Lebanese, who were the most combative side of this window. But the award for the biggest shock goes to Oman, who dazzled the continent with a 1-0 win over Japan in Suita.
Saudi Arabia found it difficult against Vietnam, they went before pulling it back to win 3-1. The Saudis are looking confident of securing a place in the first World Cup in the Middle East.
In the easiest of the two groups, Australia kept their cool to head into first place - the Socceroos won both their games, against China and Vietnam, and secured six points.
South America
Almost as you could expect in South America, one game got a little bit out of hand.
A few minutes into the game between Brazil and Argentina, representatives from the Brazilian Ministry of Health decided to remove four of Argentina’s players from the game, claiming they should have been in quarantine because they arrived from the United Kingdom. The referee eventually took the decision to call the game off.
It did not interrupt the Argentines in their next game against Bolivia. The anticipation for the first homecoming of the South American champions was huge, and the scramble for tickets was hectic. The match ended 3-0, with a hat-trick by their talisman, Lionel Messi, and many tears shared by both players and fans alike.
Elsewhere, Colombia looked ready to take their fight for a ticket to Qatar until the very end, with a convincing 3-1 win over Chile - they currently sit in Comnebol’s play-off spot.
North America
A new system, the octagonal, prevailed in North America, and the old order was maintained.
It started with an interesting 1-1 draw between Canada and Honduras, and a 0-0 tie between the United States and El Salvador. But as things progressed, the status quo prevailed. Mexico won twice and currently sit in first place, whilst the Canadians and the US national team fill second and third place respectively.
Panama also had a positive start, with draws against Costa Rica and Mexico, and an impressive 3-0 win over Jamaica.
And Jamaica? Well, surprisingly, it seems the Reggae Boyz need to find their rhythm and tempo again. With one point out of nine, they are rock bottom of the octagonal.
Photo via FIFA World Cup official Twitter account.
